(book review)

‘Scarlet’ is a young adult science fiction novel written by American author Marisa Mayer. It is the second novel in the ‘Lunar Chronicles’ series and the sequel to ‘Cinder.’ The story is a retelling of ‘Little Red Riding Hood,’ just as ‘Cinder,’ the first part of the series, is a retelling of ‘Cinderella.’ I have read this book and definitely have something to say. But before that, I’d like to mention that it was an amusing adventure!

Compared to the first book, the description of the characters’ relationships has become better. The tension between the main characters was in the air. But the sympathy of the characters from the first book was told to the readers more than shown.

The world is still as splendid. I was reading and, at the same time, watching a TV series. I really want these books to become the basis for an animated series like ‘Arсane.’

However, I don’t know how it happens, but despite all the fascination of the world, the writing style itself seems a bit boring to me. Usually, when I read a book, I notice a lot of cool sayings. It doesn’t matter whether it’s dialogue or some description. However, here I didn’t notice anything and I’m not sure if there was something really not played up as witty?

In the first book, I sympathized with the characters much more. Although there are many sad moments. Apparently, the time spent with some of the characters was not enough for me to believe in their authenticity.

‘Scarlet’ helps me realize that I hate sudden switches between characters who are in completely different places and circumstances. Here we were at the climax, where the lives of the characters hung in the balance. And a page later, we have already been in a mundane conversation between other characters. It looks terrible, because I just don’t have time to feel that moment.

In general, I recommend reading this book to those who liked the first one. But don’t expect too much from it. My rating is 9.5/10.